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Perspectives on artificial intelligence-enabled socially assistive robots in long-term care: Experiences with LOVOT among people with dementia and family caregivers
Kayoung Lee, Joey Wong, Karen Lok Yi Wong, Jeffrey Wong, Javier Cabrera-Guerra, Riea Singh, Arwen Fong, Ray Lou et al.. Digital Health, 2025-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Three themes identified include (a) LOVOT's role in supporting engagement and stimulating conversation, (b) the irreplaceability of human touch and emotional nuances, and (c) concerns about ownership and equitable resource allocation. Older adults emphasized that LOVOT has the potential to act as an active role as a companion for older adults with dementia. They also identified opportunities for improvement in design, especially around cultural responsiveness, technological familiarity and safety. This reflection brings forward the lived experience perspectives from older adults with dementia, and family partners as co-researchers, offering valuable insights to guide ethical and person-centered implementation of SARs like LOVOT in LTC settings.
Key findings
- Three themes identified include (a) LOVOT's role in supporting engagement and stimulating conversation, (b) the irreplaceability of human touch and emotional nuances, and (c) concerns about ownership and equitable resource allocation.
- Older adults emphasized that LOVOT has the potential to act as an active role as a companion for older adults with dementia.
- They also identified opportunities for improvement in design, especially around cultural responsiveness, technological familiarity and safety.
- This reflection brings forward the lived experience perspectives from older adults with dementia, and family partners as co-researchers, offering valuable insights to guide ethical and person-centered implementation of SARs like LOVOT in LTC settings.
Why it matters
People with dementia and family caregivers described a socially assistive robot as supporting engagement and conversation, but stressed that human touch and emotional nuance cannot be replaced. They also raised concerns about ownership and fair allocation of such resources, so this work informs how robots might be introduced ethically in long-term care rather than offering a treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Digital Health) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Digital Health: journal h-index 77 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 4 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Lillian Hung: h-index 28 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of British Columbia: institution h-index 1,424 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41229939) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lee, K., Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Wong, J., Cabrera-Guerra, J., Singh, R., et al. (2025). Perspectives on artificial intelligence-enabled socially assistive robots in long-term care: Experiences with LOVOT among people with dementia and family caregivers. Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251393299
Vancouver
Lee K, Wong J, Wong KLY, Wong J, Cabrera-Guerra J, Singh R, et al. Perspectives on artificial intelligence-enabled socially assistive robots in long-term care: Experiences with LOVOT among people with dementia and family caregivers. Digital Health. 2025. doi:10.1177/20552076251393299. PMID: 41229939.
BibTeX
@article{lee2025-41229939,
author = {Lee, Kayoung and Wong, Joey and Wong, Karen Lok Yi and Wong, Jeffrey and Cabrera-Guerra, Javier and Singh, Riea and Fong, Arwen and Lou, Ray and others},
title = {{Perspectives on artificial intelligence-enabled socially assistive robots in long-term care: Experiences with LOVOT among people with dementia and family caregivers}},
journal = {Digital Health},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1177/20552076251393299},
pmid = {41229939},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251393299}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.